Android 7.0 pushes easy-to-use encryption further into the mainstream.

Not too long ago, the idea of smartphone encryption set off a global debate.

Now, with the release of Android 7.0, the rise of secure messaging apps, and a public awakening on cyberspying, encrypting your chats and data is easier than ever—encryption is a now marketable selling point for the world's tech giants—even as the political controversy heats up once more.

A year after the 2013 Edward Snowden intelligence leaks lit a political fire around spying and privacy, the American tech giants Apple and Google added full-disk encryption to iPhones and Android devices.